Heart Healthy this Winter
Winter or summer, autumn or spring, your heart works hard all year round. It is absolutely vital for you to keep your heart healthy and functioning in perfect order, especially in winter where you tend to remain indoors and sedentary. Heart failure refers to a situation where the heart cannot function because it either does not pump or receive enough blood. When the heart collapses, there occurs a heart failure. Symptoms of a heart failure include shortness of breath, swelling in the legs and feet, fatigue and heightened heart rate, and a state of weakness and giddiness.
Exposure to cold weather tends to increase the risk of heart failure. This happens because there is room for chest infection, increased salt or water intake, alcohol and medication and even declining kidney function. With cold weather, smog and pollution, the risk of chest and lung infections are increased. There is also a reduction in the amount of sweat during winter, which culminates in a state of cardiac discomfort. Here are a few things you can do to keep your heart in check:
1. Reduce your salt and water intake, since the body doesn’t lose much fluid due to the lack of sweat in winter.
2. Keep working out everyday – the more you workout, the healthier and stronger your body is.
3. Keep an eye on your blood pressure levels to ensure that it is treated and attended to if it is high.
4. Vaccinate yourself against influenza and pneumonia, so as to avoid chest infections. Use home remedies to keep flus and colds at bay.
5. Stock up on vitamins and prescribed medication that you are on, to avoid unnecessary side effects.
6. Make sure that you monitor your urine output and don’t wind up having too much fluid accumulation in your lungs. If the urine output is low, it means that your lungs are filling up with fluid – avoid it at all costs!
7. Cut back on oily food and heavy snacking so that you don’t wind up collecting too much salt in your system. If you must snack, do make sure that you avoid salty food.
8. The moment you see signs of a lung infection, get it checked and monitored to avoid suffering with it – and winding up with a negative impact on your heart health.
